Friends
by panda-lit
Summary: Is it true when usually two friends, a boy and girl, begin to develop feelings for one another after knowing each other for a long time? If so, Ino's going to make Sasuke her friend...and hopefully he'll develop feelings for her. He might.[SasuIno]
1. See what happens when you're drunk?

A/n: Oi…I don't own Naruto nor will I ever. That sucks, doesn't it? And even if I did, I'd be filthy rich and own MTV. And I'd own 'Pimp My Ride'; that way I can get my car fixed any time…too bad I don't have one…because I don't have a license…and I'm too young. Oh, isn't that something. Enjoy.

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Sasuke ran his fingers through his raven-colored hair. His training had just ended, and he decided to rest under a shady tree while Sakura and Naruto were sitting on the branches. He looked at the sky and sighed. Today was like any other day. He came to training, trained with his teammates, and got into another pointless fight with Naruto.

'_Naruto…_ he thought. _Tch…that idiot.'_

"Sasuke-teme!"

Sasuke looked up at Naruto, who was grinning.

"Kakashi-sensei is taking us out to eat ramen!"

Sasuke groaned quietly. He's tired of eating ramen. That's the only place Kakashi would take them after training. Couldn't he take them elsewhere besides the ramen bar? Sighing, he stood up and dusted himself off. Sakura and Naruto quickly jumped off from the branches and stood beside Sasuke. They looked at Kakashi who was leaning against a tree, reading his book.

"Hmm. I guess you all are ready. Let's go." Kakashi smiled under his mask.

Team 7 walked to the ramen bar. While walking, Naruto and Sasuke got into another fight because Naruto started something, and Sakura was the one who stopped them while Kakashi just read his book.

"Yahoo! We're here!" Naruto grinned, taking a seat. "Ramen, old man!"

"Coming right up," He replied.

Kakashi sat beside Naruto, Sakura sat beside Kakashi, and Sasuke sat beside Sakura. When their bowls came, they began to eat. Naruto of course, finished his ramen before the others could even start. Sakura stared at Naruto in disgust. Sasuke folded his arms, watching his idiot friend eat like a pig. Kakashi…read his book.

After a while, Kakashi decided to go home but paid for his students before he left. Before leaving Sakura asked Sasuke if he would like to take her home. Sasuke's answer was no, of course. So Naruto and Sasuke were left alone. And that is when Naruto said it.

"I challenge you," he said.

"To what?" Sasuke asked.

"To a…drinking contest!"

"No thanks. I got to go," Sasuke said, standing up.

"Oh, what's wrong? Is the all mighty Uchiha survivor afraid of a challenge? Ha! What a chicken."

Sasuke clenched his fists in anger. He turned to Naruto and glared at him.

He smirked. "Fine, dobe. I'll take your challenge."

"All righty then! Give us the drinks, old man!"

"Aren't you two a little young to be drinking?" he asked, setting out two drinks in front of them.

"No, we're not! We're 15, jeez. Okay, here we go!" Naruto exclaimed, holding his cup. Sasuke grabbed his and raised it up to his lips.

"3…2…1…go!"

Both Naruto and Sasuke drank their drinks in less than a second. They quickly demanded for more. The old man tried to keep up with them, filling their cups. Before letting the alcohol enter their lips, they would sent a glare.

'_Damn it! I think Sasuke's beating me…no way I am going to let this bastard beat me,' _Naruto thought, burping.

Sasuke looked over at Naruto. He was drinking faster than before. Growling, he tried to keep up with his speed.

Minutes later, both drinkers felt themselves getting woozy. Their brains weren't working well, their eyesight was getting blurry, their stomach was tossing and turning, and they felt like collapsing. Most importantly, they felt like vomiting.

'_Shit. I'm not losing to this idiot,'_ Sasuke thought, trying to fight down the horrible liquid that was coming up his throat. He took in a deep breath and continued drinking.

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* * *

_

"All right. I'll see you tomorrow." Asuma smirked, disappearing in a puff of smoke.

Training had ended, and Ino and her team were worn-out. They were panting heavily, sweat running down their foreheads, eyes droopy. Asuma decided to train them hard. He figured the older they get, the more training they need. The stronger they get, the more they'll get a chance in succeeding to be powerful ninjas. Ino is growing to be a strong kunoichi. Shikamaru and Chouji are also growing into becoming strong ninjas.

"I'm hungry…I need some barbeque," Chouji frowned.

"Eh? How can you think of food everyday? No wonder you're fat!" Ino exclaimed, resting a hand on her hip.

"I am not fat! I'm big boned," Chouji responded angrily. "…I'm hungry. Can we go out to eat barbeque?"

"Troublesome…" Shikamaru sighed.

"Oh, let's just take his fat-ass out to eat…before he eats us," Ino snickered.

"I'm not fat, damn it!!" Chouji yelled, already enraged.

"Ha! That's what you think!" Ino laughed hysterically.

Shikamaru yawned, looking at his teammates. They fought like this everyday. Ino usually started it. And he would be the one to stop it. But this time he was too tired to do anything at this moment.

"Tch. Let's just take him out to eat already. I'm kind of hungry, too," Ino said.

"Didn't you say you were on a diet?" Chouji sneered.

"Shut up, damn it!" she yelled through clench teeth, waving her fist.

On the way to the restaurant, they encountered two familiar faces. Ino giggled and ran over to Sasuke. She hugged him from behind.

"Hi Sasuke-kun!" she grinned.

Sasuke turned around to look at her. "Who are you?" he asked in an inaudible voice.

"Huh? What do you mean 'Who are you?' I'm Ino! Yamanaka Ino. Are you all right, Sasuke? You seem a little pale," Ino said, frowning.

He smirked and took another drink. "Hn. Whatever…"

Ino looked over at Shikamaru and Chouji. They looked at her and shrugged. Her frown turned into a pout as she let go of Sasuke. She looked at Naruto, who had the same pale face. But why were their faces pale in the first place? Making an 'hmph' sound, she looked at what was in front of the two. She gasped, her eyes widened. She then smacked Naruto upside the head.

"Damn it, Naruto! You good-for-nothing piece of—"

She was cut off by Naruto who placed a hand on her mouth.

"Shit…shut up already. Can you sea I'm trying to drink in peace? Jeez…"

"Don't you see you're drunk, idiot?!"

"Oi, Ino. Let's leave already. Chouji's getting even hungrier. Troublesome…" Shikamaru sighed.

"Eh? Are you two going out to eat? Let me come with you, please! I don't want to be here with his loudmouth bitch," Naruto mumbled.

"Screw you, idiot." Ino said angrily through clenched teeth.

Naruto stuck out his tongue and walked wobbly over to Shikamaru and Chouji. The three left, leaving Sasuke and Ino alone. Snickering, Ino sat beside Sasuke. She didn't care whether Sasuke was drunk or not, as long as she was alone with him. She stared at him while he drank another glass. Before she could open her mouth, Sasuke threw the glass on the ground. He looked at her frighten face.

"What the hell are you still doing here?" he asked.

Ino thought for a moment. She can't leave Sasuke here. He might turn violent if he takes any more drinks. If she took him home, he can rest and be all right by tomorrow. Smiling, she stood up and rested a hand on his shoulder.

"Come on, Sasuke. I'm taking you home."

"Hn. You don't know where the hell I live," he replied, taking a sip of his drink.

"Err…I do."

"Hm? How? Have you been stalking me?"

Ino laughed nervously. "Eheheh, of course not! Now let's go."

"If I leave with you, will you shut up?"

She nodded.

"Hmph…" he stood up and walking unsteadily beside her. She could tell he was going to have a hard time walking, so she took his arm and put it around her shoulder. She wrapped her other free arm around his waist. Before leaving the ramen bar, Sasuke took a bottle of sake.

'_Damn…this is going to be hard,'_ Ino thought, biting her lower lip.

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* * *

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Sakura decided to walk back to the ramen bar to see if Naruto and Sasuke were still there. On her way over there, she spotted Naruto, Shikamaru, and Chouji. She stared at them, confused. Where was Sasuke? She ran to them, and she then noticed Naruto was drunk. Ignoring Naruto, she turned to Shikamaru.

"Hey, where's Sasuke-kun?" she asked, sliding her hand up and down her neck.

"Probably back at the ramen bar with Ino," he replied.

"Eh? Ino?"

"Uh, yeah. See you around. Right now we have to get to the barbeque restaurant," Shikamaru mumbled.

"Hurry up, damn it! I'm getting hungry," Naruto yelled.

"Troublesome…"

Sakura watched as they left. She clenched her fists and turned on her heel. She ran as fast as she could to the ramen bar.

'_No way! Ino…with Sasuke? I have to get there before that pig does anything to him!'_ Sakura thought, an angry expression on her face.

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Groaning, Ino opened the door to Sasuke's apartment. She was relieved to know Sasuke left his door unlocked because it seemed that Sasuke didn't have his keys with him. She let go of Sasuke, and he walked to his couch and sat down, finishing his sake. Ino fidgeted with her fingers.

"Well, I got to go. Bye Sasuke…" she smiled slightly, her back turned to him.

"Hey, wait a second," he said.

She turned around and looked at him. "What is it?"

He motioned for her to come to him. She looked at him, confused. She looked back at the door and closed it. Gulping, she walked towards him. Two arms grabbed her and pulled her towards him. Sasuke then pinned her to the couch. He smirked as he saw her shocked face.

Ino blushed. _'Crap! What am I going to do?! I have to get out of here.'_

But another side of Ino wanted to stay here. Wanting to be with Sasuke…all alone in his apartment…with him on top of her. That is what she always dreamt.

"Chu ish so hot me just wanna kish you," he said in a slurred voice.

"S-S-Sas…" she stuttered.

He lowered his head to hers until his lips were inches from hers. His face was flushed, and his breath was the smell of sake.

His lips were just so close…so close…so close to just…

"Eh…" Ino gasped silently, her left eyebrow twitching. She looked down at her chest, which was under Sasuke's sleeping face. He must've passed out when he was about to kiss Ino, and his head fell onto her chest. Taking in a deep breath, she tried to get out of this mess. She slowly slid from underneath him not wanting to awaken him. After she had gotten out from underneath him, she tiptoed to the door. She looked at him one more time before leaving his apartment.

'_Oh God, what just happened? Damn…'_ she thought to herself, her hand covering her mouth.

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A/n: Ha. How was the first chapter? Did you enjoy it? Hope so. Well, stick out for the upcoming chapter. Review…?


	2. Be Persistent

A/n: Well, here is chapter two. Enjoy.  
Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto.

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Ino mumbled angrily to herself. She crossed her arms and huffed as a frown made its way to her lips. Sighing, she hopped into bed and diving underneath the covers before looking up at the ceiling.

'_Aw, damn. Why did I let Sasuke almost kiss me? Now I feel like I can never face him. I could've punched him or something, knowing that he couldn't fight back because he was too drunk! Oh, damn hormones. Yeah, that must've been it. I let him do that to me because of hormones. Damn it!' _she thought, punching the air.

Oh, poor Ino. She couldn't admit it.

"Oh, who am I kidding? I _wanted_ him to kiss me. I didn't want to punch him at all. Man, why did he have to faint?" she pouted, tapping her chin with her index finger.

She made a whining noise and covered her face with her pillow.

'_Now I have no idea what to do…should I confront him about it? Hmm…yeah, I don't know.' _she thought before she fell asleep.

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Sasuke groaned, rubbing his eyes. The dim light of the sun hit his face. He tried getting up but failed; the pain in his head was overwhelming. The knot in his throat stood stuck there, rendering him unable to move, unable to speak. He tried to open his mouth but right as his lips parted the knot in his throat untied and a horrible liquid made itself known in his throat. He forced himself to swallow it but failed. Quickly, he rushed to the bathroom and bent over the toilet, vomiting. The more he vomited the more the pain in his head increased.

After the vomiting ceased, he brushed his teeth, washing away the disgusting taste. He placed a hand on his forehead, wanting to know if he had a fever or something that had caused his morning sickness.

'_The hell? Why am I sick all of a sudden? Well, it surely isn't a fever. My head's not boiling or anything. It's just my head and stomach,' _He thought, frowning.

He tried to remember what had happened yesterday, but his mind was blurred.

'_Maybe taking a shower will relax me. Yeah, maybe,' _he thought. Sighing, he stripped off his clothes and stepped in the shower.

After an hour later, he stepped out of the shower, feeling more relieved than before. His pain was leaving and he no longer felt like vomiting.

Sighing to himself, he put on his usual clothing and left to the training fields where his team was waiting for him.

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"Ino, honey! You up?" Inoichi called out, knocking on his daughter's door.

"Nnngg…" she groaned, rolling to the other side of the bed.

"Ino, don't you have to train with your team today?"

She didn't answer.

"Ino?"

'_Crap,'_ she thought, wrapping the blankets around her.

She feared that she might encounter _him_ today. This was all so surprising to Ino. She has never, and I mean _never_, feared Sasuke before. Whenever Ino thought about him, she would smile. Now, she just blushed and felt weird in the stomach at the thought of him. It was probably because she has never experienced anything like yesterday. She would often brag about how she's a pro at these types of situations – knowing what to do and how to react whenever someone tried to kiss you. But experiencing it was a bit too much – even for her.

'_What if…what if he feels the way I do? Oh, yeah, he was drunk. I bet he doesn't remember what happened. But I practically love the guy and here I am, scared to death of facing him,' _she thought.

That's when it hit her.

"Aha! I get it now. The only reason I'm scared of facing him is because of the incident yesterday. I mean, doesn't a girlfriend feel shy around her boyfriend after they kiss or something? Of course I would feel the same way," she said, staring at her feet. "Oh, so that's why… I see, I see. Too bad Sasuke and I aren't together, but, either way I'd still feel shy! But there _is_ a possibility that we may end up together. Hmm…how do a guy and a girl normally end up together? Why am I asking myself this?"

"What was that, honey?"

"Err…never mind. I'm c-coming out!" she replied, throwing the blanket aside.

"So, how _do_ a girl and a guy get together?"

"Simple, sweetie!" she heard a voice say.

"Dad! You don't have to invade my personal space," Ino pouted. She wasn't aware of her dad walking in.

"Aha, sorry. But I couldn't help but to overhear you talking to yourself. Now you want to know how a boy and girl end up together, right?"

"Dad," Ino whined. "You're just a guy; you can't possibly know anything about this."

"Oh, but I do. Now please let me explain. Okay, they usually start as friends. And as time pass they become real close. Before you know it, one starts having feelings for the other."

"Dad, that's the most cliché thing _ever_. I bet I could've read that off a teen magazine or something. This is reality!" Ino exclaimed.

"Ah, I know. But that's what _usually _happens," he said winking.

"So, all I have to do is become friends with Sasuke-kun and _maybe _we'll end up liking each other?" she paused. "No, _he'll _end up liking _me_. I already like _him_..."

"Well, if you put it that way…yeah, sure. Wait…the boy you're babbling about is Sasuke? Ah, Ino-chan, why not another boy?" Inoichi frowned, placing a hand on his daughter's shoulder.

"My heart is set on him and _only_ him, dad! Okay, I'll take your advice but that's because you're my dad and I'm showing how much I love you," Ino grinned.

"Hahaha, all right. Well, I need to be going. Hokage-sama called for me. Bye, sweetie." He said, kissing her on the forehead before he left.

"Hmm…what if dad was right? Aw, maybe he is!" she giggled, running to the bathroom.

She didn't bother taking a shower; she was too excited about confronting Sasuke.

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"Sasuke-kun!" Sakura called out.

Sasuke looked up at the girl who was running toward him with worried eyes.

"What?"

"Why weren't you with Naruto last night? I heard you were with Ino! I went to the ramen bar and the old man said that you two left before I even got there!" Sakura exclaimed.

"I wasn't with Ino," he replied.

"Well, that's not what Shikamaru told me and that's now what the old man told me," she frowned.

"Both lied then."

"Oh…"

"Oi, Sasuke-bastard!" Naruto yelled, waving his hand. "Get over here; we're ready to start training!"

Sasuke sighed and walked – with Sakura on his side – to where Naruto and Kakashi were. He had no idea what Sakura was talking about. Ramen bar? He wasn't at the ramen bar yesterday.

'_Wait…yes, I was. Then that idiot Naruto challenged me to this…' _he thought long and hard. What did Naruto challenge him to? All he remembered were the words "I challenge you" coming from Naruto's mouth. He couldn't remember what happened. He decided to shrug it off during training. It's not as if anything _bad_ happened yesterday.

… Although, he _did_ have the most bizarre dream last night; Ino was in it. He shivered at the thought of her. The last girl he would ever want to dream of was her; Ino annoyed him too much. Actually, any fan girl of his annoys him. Sakura was his friend; she was no longer a fan girl. But why did Ino, out of all people, have to be in his dream? It was weird too. He was about to _kiss _her. She wasn't going to kiss him. _He_ was the one that was trying to kiss her.

Another shiver went down his spine.

'_Ugh…I don't even want to think about it,' _he thought.

"Sasuke? Are you all right? You look you're in a trance or somethin'!" Naruto laughed, waving his hand in front of Sasuke's face.

He smacked the other boy's hand away. "I'm fine."

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Ino waited eagerly for Sasuke to finish his training. She had just finished her training with Asuma and her teammates. They all questioned her reasons for hurrying, but she just said she had to make it to the Flower Shop, as that was all she could think of.

"Gah, when is his team going to finish?" she sighed, pacing back and forth.

After a long two hours of pacing back and forth Sasuke's team finally stopped training.

Ino looked over a bush and saw Sakura and Sasuke. Naruto and Kakashi had already left; the only two people left were Forehead girl and Sasuke. It looked like Sakura was asking Sasuke something, he shook his head and she suddenly turned gloomy, nodded, and left. Ino laughed quietly at this; seeing Sakura be rejected was so funny to her. After she left Ino jumped out of her hiding spot and walked over to where Sasuke was.

"Sasuke, I wan—"

"How long have you been hiding behind that bush?" Sasuke asked.

"Eheheh, so you noticed," Ino smiled nervously

"Yeah."

"Look, I've been meaning to tell you something all day long, so now that we're alone, I—"

"No, I don't want to go on a date with you."

"Eh, that's not what I wanted to tell you."

"Then what is it?"

Ino stared at him nervously. She couldn't talk all of a sudden. He was staring at her, waiting for an answer. She started to say something but quickly shut her mouth, afraid that she might stutter.

'_Damn it, Ino! Just say it!_' she yelled to herself.

"I'm going to go now—"

"Let's be friends!" she blurted.

"What?" he gave her a confused look.

"Eh…yeah. Let's be friends from now on," she said.

He didn't know what to say at first but stared at her, confused.

"Why?"

"Well, I kind of figured that you won't ever want to date me, so I think it's better to be friends instead of me being your fan girl. Besides, aren't you and Forehead girl friends? She still likes you, but, either way, you two are friends. Well, I want to be your friend! I still like you and everything, but…"

'_Crap! I'm stuck!' _she thought.

"But…I like you, okay? And the only way I can ever get near you without you walking angrily away is if I'm your friend! You, Naruto, and Sakura are friends and I can tell that you care for them, right?"

Sasuke glared at her.

"And if I'm your friend, you might care for me too. Isn't being friends better than me chasing after you when you'll never return my love?"

"I don't need to be your friend. You don't need me to be your friend. If you think that I'll never return your love, than that's good. I won't. If you want to stop being a fan girl, then so be it. If you think you can get to me just by being friend, that won't work." He snapped, walking away.

"H-hey! Wait!" she called out, running to him.

"I'm heading home; I don't expect you to follow me." He said before he walked away.

"Wha…?" she stood there, dumbfounded.

"_If you think you can get to me just by being friends, that won't work."_

What did he mean by that? Could he have possibly known that the only reason Ino wants to be friends with him is to get near him and make him hers? These questions flowed through Ino's mind as she walked home. On the way home, she spotted Shikamaru and Chouji. She didn't want to face them right now so she ran the opposite way.

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* * *

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"Damn it!" she yelled, slamming the door.

"Hmm? Ino, is that you?" Inoichi called out.

"Yeah, I'm home!"

"Are you all right?"

"No! I'm going to go upstairs to watch Barney and eat ice cream!" she yelled, stomping up the stairs to her room.

"But…" a loud slam was heard. "You don't have ice cream in your bedroom, sweetie. And Barney doesn't come on 'til six." He sweat dropped.

Ino sat on her bed, sulking. She felt like crying but no way was she going to cry; she was 15 years old — she can't be crying just because someone didn't want to be her friend. She'll sound like a five year old. But this wasn't just anybody – it was Sasuke. The one she has loved ever since she was young. Sighing, she brought her knees up to her chest and rested her chin on her knees. She rocked herself, trying to calm her anger and sadness down. Biting her lower lip, she looked out the window. It was still evening. The sun was up and the weather was hot. Yeah, she really needed some ice cream; she usually had sweets when she was feeling miserable.

Two knocks were heard. "Ino-chan, I brought you some ice cream. That is what you wanted, right?"

"Yeah. Come on in, dad."

Inoichi stepped into his daughter's room and eyed her carefully, wondering what was wrong with her.

"What's wrong?" he asked, sitting beside her.

"He didn't want to be my friend."

"Who?"

"Sasuke!" she exclaimed.

"Oh, right. Well, why not?"

"I think he knows that I just want to be his friend because I want to get near him to make him mine," she pouted.

"Okay, on to plan B!" he grinned.

"Plan…B?"

"Be persistent. Keep on asking him."

"Persistent?"

He nodded.

"But dad, what if your advice doesn't work?" she whined.

"Well, try it at least! Jeez!"

_

* * *

_

Ino decided to face Sasuke again today. She found him at the park, sitting on a bench, eating a rice ball.

'_Okay, here I go!'_ she smiled confidently, pulling her ears down. There were bunnies around and since she was wearing a bunny suit, why not camouflage with the rabbits? There were plenty of rabbits around the park. Well, she didn't necessarily have to wear it but her dad insisted that she should wear it, as it was a 'cute costume'.

"_Dad! I don't necessarily have to wear this, do I?" Ino whined._

"_But it was your mother's! She wore it whenever she wanted to ask a guy something and in order for him to say yes, she had to wear this. He'd be so stunned at her cuteness. When she asked me to go on a date, I said yes because she looked so damn cute in that costume!" her father exclaimed._

"_What does it have to do with me asking Sasuke if I can be his friend?!"_

"_Easy. He'll be so stunned at your cuteness that'll he say yes. Also, you can camouflage with rabbits!"_

"_But there probably isn't going to be any rabbits around when I ask him," Ino said quietly._

"_Ah, but you don't know. Now go find him!" he smiled, patting his daughter's head._

Ino had to admit, her dad did love her. He cared for her and always wanted what was best for his little girl. Though she's not a little girl anymore, he did want her to be happy either way. But why did she have to wear _this _costume? She indeed looked like a five year old. Ino stepped onto the pavement, not one bit self-conscious about her appearance. What she wasn't aware was of the little rabbit that had clung onto her ear.

"Sasuke, we need to talk."

Sasuke looked up to see the most ridiculous thing ever – Ino in a bunny costume. He nearly choked on his rice ball.

"Would you like to be my friend?" she asked, pouting (she still hasn't notice the bunny hanging from her ear).

"No." he replied.

"Eh…"

_Be persistent. Keep on asking him._

"Please?"

"No."

"Please?"

"**No**."

"My God, please!"

"You're annoying," he said, standing up.

"Oh, come on! I'll be your bestest friend!" she said with a huge grin.

"The word 'bestest' is not a word," He said coolly.

"It can be!" she frowned, throwing herself at him.

"Let go."

"Not until you become my friend," she said quietly.

He sighed and pushed her away. Looking at her ear, he sighed again. Carefully he reached out for the little rabbit but it got scared and skittered down Ino's costume.

"Oh, how cute." she giggled.

Sasuke made an 'hmph' sound and walked away, leaving Ino to play with the little rabbit.

Ino giggled some more and looked ahead of her. _'Crap, where'd he go? Damn it,'_ she thought, gently placing the rabbit on the ground so it could run back to its family. She looked around her surroundings and still no Sasuke. She sat down on the bench he had been on and pouted some more. Her dad was wrong. Sasuke wasn't stunned at all! He looked as if he was going to laugh at her instead of gazing at her cuteness.

She took out a notepad and pencil and began writing, unaware that the little rabbit came back and sat beside her.

"Note to self: _Never_ ask father for advice. He's no good at this! I need a grown woman to help me."

But she knows she needs to have a bold persistence. The next time she faces him she will have a bold persistence!

'_No, I am not waiting till next time! I'm going to find him now!'_ she thought confidently.

_

* * *

_

She did find him. He was leaning against a tree, watching the people pass by. Slowly she crept to him. But he noticed her; she was no good at sneaking. Making an odd noise, she stomped to him. He looked at her with his usual expression, she looked at him with her chin high in the air; he was a bit taller than she was.

"What do you want?" he asked, staring down at her with a blank expression.

"Do you—"

"You still have the bunny with you," he cut her off.

"Huh?" she tugged on her costume's ear and the bunny slid off, only to scurry into her costume once again.

"Dah, I don't care! I seriously need to talk to you, damn it!" she yelled, clutching his collar.

Noticing what she was doing, she let go and stared down at the ground.

"Sorry, Sasuke-kun. But I need to ask you something." She said sadly, looking up at him. He was still there, standing, looking at her. She was surprised that he didn't leave like he usually did, leaving her sad, like he always. But here he was, standing in the same position, not running away, staring at her, his expression unreadable. Ino didn't know whether he was irritated or feeling pity for her, so she quicly cleared her throat and sighed.

"Will you _please_ be my friend?" she asked, hoping for him to say yes after she has asked so many times.

"No."

Her expression fell; a gloomy expression made its way onto her face, her shoulders slumped. Her lips parted slightly. She was surprised once again…and hurt.

She smiled. "Are you sure, Sasuke-kun?"

He raised an eyebrow. "Yeah."

"Then how 'bout this?!" she took out a tape and held it up to his face.

"What is that?" he asked, narrowing his eyes at her.

"A tape, of course – a tape that _contains_ something," she smiled wickedly.

"I don't have time for this." He sighed, turning on his heel.

"Ah, but what if I show this tape to everyone, hmm?"

He stopped.

"What do you mean?" he asked in a rough voice.

"Oh, I see you don't know. I guess I should explain, no?"

He blew his bangs and walked over to her.

"Go."

"Yesterday something happened. Something a little…strange. Well, it was strange for me, but I don't know about you, but I think you'll find it strange too," she paused to take a deep breath in. "Do you remember what happened yesterday, Sasuke?"

He shook his head.

"Yeah, I thought so. Well, let me explain. Yesterday you and Naruto had a drinking contest. You were drunk and could barely walk! So, I, being _very_ generous, took you home! But right when I was about to leave you snatched me and pinned me to the couch. Then…then…" she stopped and blushed. "Then you tried to kiss me!"

Sasuke stared at her wide-eyed. "What?"

"You – tried – to – kiss – me. Get it?"

Before she could blink, Sasuke grabbed the tape and crushed it.

"Hey!" Ino yelled.

"You _recorded _us?"

"Well, yeah! So I could remember the precious moment we shared together!" she smiled gently, clasping her hands.

"You're crazy; I don't want to be friends with someone like you. Besides, no way is anyone going to see the tape now that I destroyed it," He smirked.

She grinned wickedly. "Ah, but Sasuke-kun, there is another thing you do not know."

"**What**?"

"I have _plenty_ of copies of that tape. Hee hee," she giggled.

He grabbed her by the collar of the costume. "_Where?_"

"Hurt me and daddy will surely kill you!"

"I don't care. Besides, how do I know that you're not lying? How do I know that the tape doesn't contain anything at all?"

_Crap. _"I'm not; I can even prove it to you! Just come to my house and I'll play it," She gulped.

She looked at him straight in the eye, making sure he knew she was serious. Ino didn't want him to find out her little _secret_.

'_Ugh, hell no,' _he thought.

But he didn't want her to prove anything to him. For whatever reason, he knew she was telling the truth. Why else would he have dreamt what Ino had just told him right now? It couldn't just have happened randomly. His dreams were never a blur, but why did he have a blurry dream last night? Because it wasn't a dream, it really happened. He was just too drunk to realize what he was doing. He doesn't just randomly believe people, especially Ino, but he knew she was telling the truth. She didn't have to prove anything. He _knew_.

When he pinned her to the couch, he had caressed her cheek. He could even remember the way he blew on her ear, making her quiver. She was probably too dazed to notice what he was doing to her.

He was surprised that she didn't know. Or she was probably too embarrassed to tell him those tiny parts. Or maybe that didn't happen. Maybe the caressing and blowing on the ear really was a dream, because if Ino wanted to give more details, she would've.

Sasuke could've killed Ino with his oh-so-special techniques, but he knew that that was very wrong. He wanted to strangle her, but that was wrong. He wanted to do all these horrible things to her because she was blackmailing him. But he couldn't. He wouldn't. Even if he did, he would feel more stupid than relieved on the inside. It would be something that would linger onto him. Besides, he didn't want to waste his time trying to kill _this_ girl; there's no point in killing her. She's just a girl…she's Ino, for God's sake. No one wants to waste his or her time killing her; she's going to die someday. She's weak; some _random_ person would rape and kill her, but not Uchiha Sasuke.

Well, that's what Sasuke thinks.

Sasuke thought some more before he could Ino his answer.

Okay, maybe he _didn't_ want to kill Ino. He doesn't want to hurt or kill a girl —or anyone, really— unless she's an enemy. But Ino's not his enemy, just some girl. But not just any girl; she's the girl who has clung onto him, tried her best to kiss him, tried her best to make him love her, and was now blackmailing him.

All for what? Because he won't be her _friend_.

If she did show the video to everyone, even if he told them that he was just drunk and didn't know what he was doing, they wouldn't believe him. Especially Naruto. Oh, Naruto. He, out of all people, would be teasing him the most.

'_Why the hell does she want me to be her friend? Does she have some purpose or something?' _he thought, not that he cared or anything.

He pushed her away and turned his back to her. He was silent for a while, not even wanting to look at her. Ino waited for him to say something. Truth is Ino lied to him. Telling him that she had recorded them both but did not. She didn't even bring a recording camera with her. She just said that because she new he'd be like, 'WTF?' and would actually believe her. Oh, she just loved the way she would lie and make someone believe her. She was just a bit surprised that Sasuke, _the_ Uchiha Sasuke, believed her. But she brushed it off. A grin spread to her lips and she broke out in a few giggles. She smiled at his back and tapped him on the shoulder.

"So…friends? If not, Konoha, may I present to you this tape I have?"

An awkward silence followed. No one spoke. Sasuke did not speak; Ino looked at his back nervously.

He then finally turned around, facing her.

"…Fine. We're friends," he said.

Ino squealed and hugged him ever so tightly. She was so happy, that she did not notice his gloomy face. Oh, Sasuke is surely going to have a rough time. A _very_ rough time

_

* * *

_A/n: Whoo! Chapter 2 is complete! Ooh, whee. Thank you for the reviews, I appreciate them all. Sigh…this took some time. But I'm glad that I'm done with it. Chapter 3 – coming out…somewhere…gah, I don't know. Oh, I feel sorry for Sasuke. He feels sorry for himself. Hee hee. And thanks Muu for editing my story x3  



	3. A Little Conversation

Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto  
A/n: I want to thank my wonderful beta-reader Muu. Flame the story, but don't flame the pairing :-)

* * *

"…_Fine. We're friends," he said._

_Ino squealed and hugged him ever so tightly; she was so happy that she did not notice his gloomy face. Oh, Sasuke is surely going to have a rough time. A **very** rough time._

* * *

Ino got off his back and stared at his face. Oh, he was very gloomy. She decided to lighten things up a bit. 

"Okay, now that we're friends," she stopped to jump around some more. "Eh, sorry. Just excited, that's all! Ahem, okay. Now that we're friends, we might as well do things friends would do."

"Like what?" he sighed, not one bit of happiness in his tone.

"Um, well," she tapped her chin and thought. "Ah! When two people become friends, they tell each other about themselves. You know, to get to know each other. You tell some stuff about yourself, and I'll tell you something about me!"

He stood silently, just looking at her. All right, that stare was really bothering Ino. She had to do something in order for him to not look like some depressed guy who can't get a girlfriend, has no job and no money. Before saying something, she thought hard. This boy must like something so they can both do it together to have some sort of fun. But first, she wanted to go with her plan: getting to know one another. Maybe Sasuke would find it fun… somehow.

"Okaaaaaaay, I'll go first!" she chirped, grabbing Sasuke's elbow, pulling, or, rather, _forcing_ him to sit down. She sat beside him, a bit too close. He shifted and moved away from her, but each time he moved she would follow the way a cub would follow its mother bear.

After some long minutes of moving this way and that, Sasuke just sat where he was. It was no use. No matter how away he'll move from Ino she will still follow.

"Hee hee, sorry," she grinned uneasily, scratching the back of her head. "Just thought you were going to run away or something."

He scoffed inwardly. Yeah, right. How can he? If he did something that displeases Ino, she might show the tape. But if she dares ask him for something…inappropriate…he'll leave her and won't give a damn if she shows it. No way is he going to do anything that's...inappropriate, ahem, like sex. Then she's out of her mind.

"Ah, not like it matters or anything. If you do then I'll just have to..." she stopped and laughed nervously. "Eh, never mind! Okay, let me talk about myself. My name is Yamanaka Ino, no duh. My family owns a flower shop and I mostly have to work there everyday! My dad is very overprotective, but his advice is good! I like dumplings and…"

He listened to her. He couldn't miss a single thing. Who knows? She might quiz him and if he gets something wrong, oh boy, he doesn't want her to show that tape. So he listened and learned more about her.

She had some huge problem of getting fat; she would diet in order for her to get slim so boys may find her more attractive. What was the point? Ino wasn't fat. She was already slim… not that Sasuke checked her out or anything.

Ino seems to like her family a lot and cares for her teammates. She also dislikes Sakura… a lot. He had no idea how they even came to hate each other, but he didn't bother asking.

Ino said more things about herself but Sasuke didn't feel like thinking about them now. He can memorize everything about her when he gets home, and probably study too, just in case she quizzes him.

"Okay, you're turn!" Ino grinned.

Sasuke sighed and turned to face Ino. "You're a fan girl; you're supposed to know everything about me."

Her grin faded. No, she didn't know anything about him. She only knew that he lost his family, and was put on Sakura's team, which made her angry. But that's about it, nothing more.

"Um, well…not really," she mumbled.

He sighed and lay on the ground, resting his arms behind his head. "But you do know some main things about me, right?"

She nodded.

"There. That's all about me," he said. Ino's face fell and she turned the other way, her face very dull. This was _not_ fun at all. He was _so_ boring. That was something she had to work on. Her dull expression changed into an excited one.

"I've got an idea," she smiled, standing up. Looking down at him, she held out a hand, but felt stupid when Sasuke decided to get up himself, rejecting her offer of helping him.

'_How rude!'_ she thought, punching the air in his direction.

Sasuke turned around and looked at her, confused. What in the hell was she doing? Ino was so focused on punching the air that she did not notice Sasuke staring at her.

"Eheheh, wow, don't you see all those bugs! Pssh, they're, like, flying everywhere! Like, pssh!" she said, continuing to punch the air.

"Aren't you going to take me somewhere, Yamanaka?" he asked.

"Oh, yeah! Sorry." She said, walking pass him before turning. "Oh, one thing, Sasuke. Now that were friends, call me Ino instead. And, hmm…we'll meet back here tomorrow again! I don't know what to do today, so no, we're not going anywhere. You're team doesn't have training tomorrow, right?"

He shook his head.

"Great! See you tomorrow, Sasuke-kun." she grinned, running off.

"Shit. I'm in hell." Sasuke said aloud.

* * *

"Daddy, daddy!" Ino yelled happily, slamming the door, causing the vases to shake. 

"Ino, sweetie, can you please be a bit more careful?" Inoichi asked, coming in the room. He noticed that she still had her costume on and he noticed the big smile on her face. Had his idea worked?

"Oh, dad! I got him to be my friend," she grinned.

"Really! I knew the costume would work," he winked.

"Actually, it didn't. He didn't fall over my sexiness, dad. BUT…I did do something that might sound a little crazy."

"Oh? Like what?"

"Blackmail!"

Inoichi looked at her with wide eyes, his hands clenching. For a minute, it looked as if he was going to yell at his daughter, telling her what an idiot she was. Ino knew that whenever he had that expression it meant trouble. She closed her eyes, waiting whatever punishment her father was going to give her. Ah, possibly a lecture on how blackmailing someone is wrong. But what she received from her father surprised her a little; he pulled her into a hug.

"Ah, my daughter is becoming smart, not that you weren't smart before it's just that – wow, my daughter is smart!" he smiled, whirling her around.

Ino frowned at his statement but brushed it off.

"So you're not mad at me?" Ino asked, hoping he would say no.

"Of course not! So what are you using against him, eh?" he sat on a chair and looked at his daughter with thoughtful eyes.

"By telling him that I have a tape of him and me where we almost kissed... And that if he won't be my friend I'll show this tape to everyone in the village," she mumbled.

Inoichi's eyes turned dark. He raised an eyebrow at her and stood from his chair, his pale blond hair moved right to left as he paced back and forth, thinking.

'_Oh no,' _Ino thought, fearfully. The blank expression on his face and the pacing back and forth totally meant that he was angry. She knew her dad quite well to know when he was angry or not. And boy, he was definitely angry. Laughing nervously, she took a step toward her father.

"Uh, dad?"

"Hold on, let me think about it," he said in a deep, terrifying voice that made Ino wince.

About 10 minutes passed and he was still pacing back and forth. Ino didn't know what to do. She stiffened, ready to hear the roaring voice of her father.

"Ino…" he said in a stern voice, scaring Ino more than she is now. "You are so intelligent! Far more intelligent than Shikamaru. I am so proud of you; you're making the Yamanaka clan proud!"

"Dad, you're weird but I still love you!!" she said twice as loud as him, letting him whirl her around.

* * *

Sasuke slammed open his door and stomped to his couch – the couch where Ino and he shared a _precious _moment. He had an angry expression on his face. Well, why wouldn't he? His knuckles were growing white from how long he had been clenching his fists. This probably had to be the first time throughout the whole year that he had been this mad. The first time was in January when Naruto had spread around the rumor that Sasuke sucks his finger and sleeps in kids' PJs when going to sleep. Okay, so he sucks his finger, but that's just a habit. BUT he does not wear kids' PJs…only when he doesn't have anything else to wear. 

But he might be wrong. It's been a month since that's happened. There could be other reasons to why he might be angry the next ten months.

"She's just a bitch…an annoying bitch," he said aloud, lying on his bed, staring at the ceiling.

Why did Sasuke have to say such cruel words? He's just lucky Ino wasn't there to hear those words coming out of his mouth. True, he thought Ino was annoying but he never knew she was _this_ annoying. He's beginning to doubt that other girls are annoying as she is. She definitely _is_ annoying. He's glad he isn't with her now…but then again there is tomorrow.

* * *

The next day, Ino knew it was going to be one of her happy days. She gets up in the morning, takes a nice shower, wears her best clothes, and goes outside _knowing_ that today is one of her good days. 

"Ah, what a wonderful day today is! The birds are singing – wait, why aren't there birds singing?" Ino stayed silent and waited to hear the birds who would chirp in the morning every time she woke up. Confused, Ino stood up and opened her curtain to see a surprising sight.

"Snow?! In February? Why!" Ino whined, closing her curtains. It was all so random. Yesterday it was warm and pleasant and today is cold and gloomy. She was going to wear her cute dress today to meet Sasuke! So today wasn't one of her good days after all.

"Damn it! Why snow, why?! Why must you make me so unhappy? Gah, I hate winter," Ino mumbled, crossing her arms.

"Ino, sweetie! Someone's at the door for you," Inoichi called out.

"Dah, I don't care. Tell them I'm not home. Tell them that I went out and died in the freakin' snow!" Ino yelled back, standing against the doorframe.

"But Ino, the person is Sasuke."

Ino's eyes widened, her body grew tense. _Sasuke_ was here. _He_ came to _her_ house. Oh, how happy she was. Giggling softly, she ran into the bathroom and dressed herself quickly, eager to see Sasuke.

* * *

"So Sasuke, what brings you hear, hm?" Inoichi asked, crossing his arms, looking at the bored figure in front of him. 

"Ino wanted to see me today," was Sasuke's reply.

"Oh, you don't say. Listen Uchiha, if you dare, and I mean DARE, lay a finger on my daughter you're dead."

"I don't think I will, sir."

"So you're thinking but not sure that you are?" he took a step toward him.

"Actually I won't and never will," Sasuke mumbled.

"Do you even _like_ my daughter?"

"No."

"Then why are you friends with her?"

"Long story."

"Oh, I see," he tapped his chin, just as Ino usually did.

"Do you think she's pretty?"

"Um, well—"

"Oh, so you do think she's pretty!" Inoichi clasped his hands together.

"No, I don't."

"Are you saying my daughter isn't pretty enough for you?!"

"No! I'm just saying that—"

"So you do find her pretty," he winked.

"I didn't say that, sir, I – she's, um—"

"Are you just friends with my daughter because you're attracted to her sexiness and want to make a move on her?!"

"What! No, never!"

"Do you think she's smart and strong enough to help you rebuild your clan?"

"Um, I don't know. I—"

"So you're saying that she's not smart enough but you're attracted to her sexiness?! How dare you, Uchiha! Thinking my daughter is retarded but sexy!!"

"Wha…?"

Sasuke was lost. He didn't know what to say, but just stood there, a confused expression on his face. Ino's dad was just throwing questions at him that confused him very much. His first intention was to run up to Ino's room, if he knows where it is, grab her, and take her outside so he won't be near her non-stop-question–asking dad.

"I like you, Uchiha. You're strange, but that's because you can't confess your feelings towards Ino. I know. I was like that, too, when I met her mother's dad! He asked me the same questions and I answered so stupidly, but he liked me either way. You pass. You'd make a good boyfriend for my daughter." Inoichi grinned, giving him thumbs up.

"WHAT?!"

"Dad, I'm ready," Ino smiled, coming down the stairs.

"Can we go, Ino?" Sasuke asked, narrowing his eyes at her.

"Oh, sure! Come on."

* * *

"So where are you taking me?" Sasuke asked. 

"Well, since it's snowing I know the exact place to take you," Ino said, smiling.

"And that is where?"

"You'll see!"

* * *

A/n: Blah, I just had to end it here. My fingers hurt and I – my fingers hurt. Yeah, that's my reason for stopping here. Honestly, I don't even know if I made sense when I put the conversation between Sasuke and Inoichi XD Oh, well.

Review…?


	4. Sleepover

"This is where you planned to take me?" Sasuke asked, his blank expression remaining on his face.

"Well, no. I wanted to take you to this wonderful place, however, we can't go there since it's snowing," Ino frowned.

"So we have to do _this_?"

"Oh, stop complaining, Sasuke-kun. Let's get to work!"

Sasuke groaned inwardly as he looked at Ino's backyard. There was a lot of snow. She thought that they should dig up all the snow that was in the backyard and afterwards, drink some hot chocolate. A perfect day for friends.

Ino sighed. "Man, there sure is a lot of snow. Plenty of work, huh?"

She sniffled and adjusted her earmuffs.

Making a 'hyah' noise Ino tried digging up the biggest pile of snow. Her first attempt at trying to dig it up failed. Her shovel was now stuck in the snow and the more force she used to pull it out, the more her face grew red. Placing a foot on the blade while the other foot sat in the snow, Ino put all her strength into getting the damn thing out, forgetting all about Sasuke.

While Ino was busy taking out the shovel, Sasuke found all this too amusing. Seeing Ino making a fool out of herself in front of him made him want to laugh. But his entertainment soon stopped when something hit his forehead.

"Oh, crap!" Ino bit her lip, falling to the snow, kneeling beside Sasuke.

He was on the ground, unconscious, a cut on his forehead. Ino watched as the blood trickled down. She tried to take out the shovel, and with all her force, she took it out. But instead of gripping onto the base of the shovel she let go and it flew to Sasuke and hit his forehead.

"Oh my God. Oh my God. Oh my God. What am I going to do? What am I going to do? Dad left to another damn meeting so he can't possibly help me now! Uh, um—I know!" Ino smiled brightly.

She went back into the house to fetch the first aid box.

* * *

Sasuke groaned. He opened his eyes to find Ino staring down at him intently. Her curtain of hair that covered half her face was tickling his cheek. He realized that he was on her couch and she was kneeling on the floor, looking down at him. 

"You're awake. That's good. I was waiting for you to wake up. I thought you, like, died or something! You've been asleep for the past five hours!" she exclaimed.

"Hn," was his reply as he positioned himself to a sitting position.

"Oi, Sasuke… I'm sorry for, you know, accidentally hitting you with the shovel. Just to let you know, it wasn't my fault. Okay, maybe it was, but that is because my grip on the shovel just—I just let go! And then the shovel flew to you and hit you."

"…It's not much of a problem so be quiet already," he said, feeling the large lump on his forehead.

"Well, I still have to put this ointment on you," she sighed, holding up the small tube.

He slapped her hand away softly. "I don't need that crap."

"But Sasuke-kun! That wound will never heal unless I put this ointment on you! I mean, of course it'll heal but it'll take much longer, you know."

"That's fine with me."

Ino made an odd noise at the back of her throat, but Sasuke didn't hear. It sounded much like a whining noise.

"I guess I'll be leaving now," Sasuke mumbled, putting on his coat.

Sasuke ignored what Ino had told him; he did not know it was something very important he should've heard, and continued walking toward the door.

"Sasuke-kun, wait!" she called out.

He should've listened to her.

Snow poured all over the young Uchiha, throwing him to the ground, also letting snow enters the house. It was unbelievable. Snow covered mostly Ino's entire door. Who would've known that so much snow in such little time could cover mostly an entire door? Actually, that's not what really happened. A group of little boys—maybe three or four—decided to cover the Ino's door with snow, since they really don't like her. Every morning they would do something to annoy her: poke her, slap her butt, or say how ugly she looks in the morning. And today is the perfect day to annoy her even more—covering snow in front of her house.

Sasuke groaned, staring at the snow on top of his torso.

Ino couldn't help but to turn around and giggle slightly. It was true that Sasuke looked like an idiot under all that snow. But she soon noticed that Sasuke was in 'desperate help' and decided to go help him. But by the time she turned back around Sasuke was standing up, wiping snow from his body.

"Eheheh. Yeah, those brats that live near decided to annoy me even more by covering my whole door with snow! Ha, can you believe that? Sasuke-kun, if you're thinking of going home, you can't! It's snowing like crazy outside, and you might get sick!" Ino said with a worried expression, clutching onto his jacket.

"I can take care of myself, Ino," he said simply.

"Hey, hey, hey, hey, hey," she said, grabbing his arm. "Isn't it good to know that someone cares for you so much that she's willing to beg you to stay because you might get sick in the blizzard outside? Please, Sasuke! Don't go out there! " she whined, closing the door.

Sasuke cursed under his breath and he walked past Ino.

He turned back to face her. "Then what the hell do you expect me to do then?"

She gasped—an idea came to her.

"Kyaa! I have an idea, Sasuke-kun!" she squealed, throwing herself at him.

"What now?" he said, letting an exasperated sigh out.

"You can sleep over!"

"WHAT?"

"Oh, come on, it'd be great! I mean, you can sleep in the guest room if you want, and I'll sleep in my room, of course." She grinned, giving him thumbs up.

"I'd rather not stay here."

Ino's bright expression turned into a grim one. This always seems to happen. Ino would say something wonderful and when she asks Sasuke what he thinks it, he doesn't find it too wonderful. It doesn't happen all the time, just since him and her became friends and when she tried to make him her friend.

Before opening her mouth, Ino chuckled inwardly. She knew a way for him to stay here, she just forgotten all about it.

"Oh ho ho, Sasuke-kun," she took a step toward him, an evil smirk making its way to her lips.

He knew that look—the look of 'if-you-don't-agree-to-what-I-say-I'm-showing-this-tape'.

Before she continued he blurted out, "Fine, I'll stay."

"Yay! This'll be so fun!" Ino grinned goofily, trying to ignore the huge pain she felt.

"Hmph."

* * *

"All right, everyone. Dismissed," Tsunade smirked slightly, shooing away all the jounin in the room. 

Everyone looked at one another, hoping that their Hokage would say something encouraging to them after such a boring meeting—probably something like, "I'm so glad to have you protecting our village. You are doing a fine job. I might even think of giving you a break tomorrow!"

"What do you want?" Tsunade sighed. "It's not as if you expect me to say something encouraging and ending it up with, 'I might even think of giving you a break tomorrow,' do you?"

Sighing in defeat, everyone left out the doors.

"So how's life treating you, eh, Inoichi?" Shikato smirked.

"Hmph. Fine. Hokage-sama seems to be loading me with more missions."

"I know how you feel. Hey, wanna go get a beer or something?"

"No thanks. I have to get home to my precious daughter Ino. She's with that Uchiha. I like him, he's interesting," Inoichi smiled.

"Oh, really? Haven't you ever thought about it, Inoichi?" Shikato raised an eyebrow at him.

"Think about _what_?"

"What _usually _happens when a boy and girl are home _alone_?" Shikato asked, making sure he emphasized 'alone'.

"What the hell are you talking about?"

Shikato sighed and placed a hand on his friend's shoulder, tapping it. "I know you'll find out." And with that, he walked away.

"Pssh, what the hell was he talking about? Pfft…"

……

"Oh, damn! Ino is _alone_ with _him_—a _boy_! UCHIHA SASUKE! Don't worry, baby! Daddy's coming to save you!" he ran out of the building, into the blistering cold.

* * *

Ino sat in the kitchen, eating sweet rice. Sasuke was in the guest room, doing whatever he was doing. For some reason… Ino kept feeling this pain, though she was trying her best to ignore it. Though, she had no idea what it was. It wasn't a pain in which she got hurt or anything, but some sort of feeling. She didn't want to say 'pain' because it sounded so stupid, so she decided to call it a normal feeling. 

A feeling in which she felt stupid, an idiot. Every time she brought out the 'tape' in order to make Sasuke do what she says she feels as if Sasuke is her slave rather than her friend. And no way did Ino want to think about that. She doesn't want to think of herself as the type of person who's forcing someone to do what he or she wants, and using something against them—a weakness. And surprisingly, this tape was a huge weakness for Uchiha Sasuke.

"He probably hates me…" she sighed. "But I really want him to like me, and being friends seem to be a good start, ne?"

"I'm going to go bring him something… maybe he'll think of me as nicer then?" she limped to the counter since her right leg was asleep, and grabbed the jar of cookies.

"Yeah, I don't know. He probably likes cookies!" she grinned.

* * *

"Here ya go, Sasuke-kun!" Ino smiled, handing him the tray of cookies.Sasuke stared at the tray of cookies she held out before him. He looked up to see her smiling face. Ino had her hair down this time; it was up to her hips. And she was wearing purple PJs. What a surprise. Sasuke, on the other hand, was wearing his usual clothing since Ino didn't have any PJs for him. 

"I'm not hungry," he replied, turning his head away from her.

She frowned. "But I bet you haven't eaten all day, Sasuke-kun! I mean, you were unconscious for a very long time, you know."

"Hn…"

Putting a cookie in her mouth, she sat next to him, and this time she didn't sit that close. Instead, she kept a good distance between them; she figured he wanted his own space. If she wants him to actually like her, she has to do nothing to upset him. Maybe he'll figure that she's being serious and just doesn't want him to be her slave. Otherwise, he would just forget about the tape and won't care if she shows it, if he has had enough of her forcing him to do what she wants. But if he knows that she really does want to be her friend and is actually acting like one instead of bringing out the tape every five minutes, he'll reconsider. Maybe he'll think she's not that bad after all.

"Are you sure you don't want one?" she asked again, holding out a cookie out to him. She really didn't want to eat any sweets; she's on a diet. But having a sleepover involves some types of sweets, doesn't it?

"No thanks." He said.

"O-okay, if you insist," she grinned, biting the cookie she offered to him.

* * *

"My baby, _my_ baby, home alone with UCHIHA SASUKE! What-what if he does something to her?!?!?! Damn it, Uchiha, like I said, lay one finger on her and you're dead!" he yelled, pushing his way through the strong wind blowing toward him.

* * *

"Do you hear that, Sasuke-kun?" Ino whispered, putting her ear against the wall. 

"Hear what?"

"I don't know. I hear some loud thumping! Oh, my God, what if it's, like, some huge animal trying to attack us!" she said fearfully, grabbing a bat.

"Hn, there's no animal outside," Sasuke simply said.

"Y-you don't know about that! C'mon, let's go check it out!" she grabbed his elbow and him and her both went outside the guest room to the door that lead outside, which was in the living room.

Both teens heard muffled voices. Well, one actually. The person, or something, was banging against the door, trying to say something. Ino was terribly terrified—so terrified she hid behind Sasuke, her bat in her hand.

"I'm going to open the door, I don't want you to do or say anything got it?" he stopped to sigh. "Hn, just let me take care of whoever is outside."

Ino managed to stutter a yes while clutching onto her steel bat.

"And," he turned around to face. "You BETTER not swing that bat and hit ME. I don't want anything to happen like this morning."

"Oh, don't worry! That won't happen again. Promise!"

The banging continued, with muffled voices being heard. Sasuke grabbed the doorknob and turned it slightly. He pushed Ino away from him before opening the door. After a full minute of tension, Sasuke finally opened the door, only to see something jump toward him.

* * *

"Okay, you guys are complete idiots," Ino sighed, shaking her head. 

She stared at the grown man and young man sitting next to each other on the couch, each looking beaten up. After Sasuke had opened the door, Ino's dad came rushing in and when his eye caught Sasuke, he lunged himself at him. Ino watched as both fought for dominance. But she had no idea why her dad attacked Sasuke in the first place. All she heard within the punches and kicks were,

"How dare you touch my daughter, Uchiha!"

"What?! I didn't touch her, damn it!"

"I thought I trusted you, Uchiha!"

"I thought you wouldn't kill me even if I hung out with your daughter!"

"Dad…why did you attack Sasuke?" Ino asked.

"The pervert, I thought he was going to touch you!" Inoichi sighed in misery.

"Sasuke-kun…why did you attach daddy with such force? I mean, he is older than you and you should respect that."

"How the hell should I NOT fight back? The idiot almost killed me."

"I say you both should apologize and get over this crap," Ino sighed.

"Hmph. I'm not apologizing to this pervert," Inoichi folded his arms, looking the other way.

"Hn. I'm not apologizing to this idiot," Sasuke muttered, turning his head the other way.

"WHAT DID YOU SAY?!" Inoichi stood up, clutching onto the Uchiha's collar.

"Okay, both of you stop!" Ino yelled, throwing a cookie at their heads. "Dad… to bring you even more bad news… Sasuke is sleeping over. And before you choke him I just want to let you know you'd make your precious daughter very happy if you let him stay or else he will get sick in this harsh weather."

"SO?! I just ran through that so-called harsh weather and you don't see me getting sick, do you?!" after his terrifying yell Inoichi paused to cough a several times.

"You see! You're already getting a cold. C'mon, let's get you to bed, dad. Sasuke, you can go to your room now," Ino smiled at Sasuke.

Sasuke groaned quietly and rubbed his throbbing head. Today _was_ a bad day to come to the Yamanaka's house.

* * *

"Man, the snow is really crazy outside!" Ino shivered, clutching onto her blanket. The wind was very strong and made eerie noises. Ino grew terrified. Truth is, Ino hated to sleep all by herself. She wished she had a sibling to share in the same room as her. Even when it was raining or snowing and the wind was howling or the thunder was too loud, she grew even more scared. When she was a little kid she would go to her dad's room and sleep with her, and she still does. But she always makes sure to keep some distance away from them because her dad moves a lot in the night…and he might kick her out of the bed. 

Today she really wanted to go to her dad's room but he's sick and she doesn't want to catch it. Most importantly, he needs all the space in the bed to relax and she doesn't want to bother him.

She had only one option left…Sasuke.

Maybe he won't mind.

* * *

"Sasuke-kun?" she knocked on the open door and stepped in the room. 

No answer.

"Sasuke, I get real scared when there are eerie noises and such. Please let me sleep here."

He sat up when he heard her last sentence. "Why don't you just ignore the noises?"

"I-I can't…" she whimpered.

"Sorry, but, uh," he paused to think of a good excuse. "The bed is small so it can't fit both of us."

"What are you saying? This is a perfect size for two people, you know," Ino pouted and folded her arms.

He groaned. "Ino, go to sleep with the lights on or something."

Sasuke waited for her to leave and when he heard her footsteps, the noise was coming toward him not away from him. He continued looking at the wall and waited for what Ino was going to do. He was surprised when Ino sat on the bed but did not lie next to him. Well, she couldn't. He had his whole body stretched out on the bed.

"I'm not leaving until you let me lie next to you!" she whispered, rocking herself.

"Hmph." Yeah, I bet she'd be leaving any minute now 'cuz I won't let her sleep with me, he thought.

After an hour or so, he heard something fall to the ground. He was just having a good sleep, for goodness sakes. Quickly he sat up and saw what was on the floor. Ino.

He was surprised that she didn't even feel a damn thing! But what surprised him the most was that she didn't leave.

"Damn…" he hissed. Quietly, Sasuke got off the bed and placed the cover on Ino. He then picked her up and placed her on the bed.

Maybe I should sleep on the couch or something, he thought. But before he could move a single step, Ino grabbed onto his shirt. Sasuke looked down at her face. She was asleep even though she was grabbing onto his shirt. Weird, he thought.

"I hate myself," he said aloud, lying next to her, but made sure he was FAR away from her. He figured that even if he did go to the couch to sleep Ino would wake up and go to him.

While trying to go to sleep he felt something warm against his back. Once again, Ino. She snuggled her head against his back, making Sasuke stiffen.

At least she's not wrapping her arms around me, he thought, sighing in relief. And this is when Sasuke really wanted to leave already, probably sneak out. But she has…the tape…the tape that'll surely give him nightmares. And even if he did leave, she'll probably yell at him the next morning, saying how angry she was because he left her. Then… she'll take out the tape… and show it to everyone just because he snuck out last night to stay away from her! He surely doesn't want that, so he _has_ to stay here.

He never knew that a tape would be his biggest weakness. But if it was any ordinary tape, then it won't be much of a problem, but this damn tape contained one of his horrible nightmares: him and Ino. Shivering at the remembrance of what happened, Sasuke tried his best to go to sleep.

When he closed his eyes, he felt warm breathing on his ear. His eyes widened in surprise.

"Thanks, Sasuke-kun," Ino whispered against his ear.

"Yeah, yeah," he replied, now feeling her back warmly against his.

He growled silently before drifting off to sleep.

* * *

**A/n: Yay, chapter four is done! Yippee-day-do. Anyways, sorry I haven't updated in a long time. I was very busy. But I hope you're happy now that I updated this chapter! Ahem, I want to thank my beta-reader Muu. –glomps Muu- I couldn't have done this without her! And don't flame me 'cuz Sasuke seems somewhat OOC. Actually, go ahead and flame, but don't flame the pairing. If you don't like the pairing, why waste your precious time reading this story?**


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